HTS kills 3 troops of government forces in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) killed on Monday three troops, including an officer, of the Syrian government forces in Aleppo and Idlib governorates, northwestern Syria.
Militants of the HTS sniped three troops, including an officer, of the government forces, and injured two others in the Zawiya Mountain, south of Idlib, and Basratun, west of Aleppo, a military source of the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room told North Press.
The source added that factions of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, also known the Syrian National Army (SNA), managed to destroy two positions of the government forces that contained thermal equipment; one in al-Malaja axis, south of Idlib, and the other in the Regiment 46, west of Aleppo.
In the meantime, another military source said the government forces intensified their shelling on areas in the south of Idlib, including al-Bara, Sfuhen, Fatterah, Kansafra, and Benin.
Another source indicated that the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, a coalition of several SNA factions, targeted positions of the government forces in the southern countryside of Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo with heavy artillery and missiles.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment between Syrian government forces and opposition factions accompanied by Russian warplanes’ flight despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.